A Reason To Believe
by purplepagoda
Summary: Ziva receives a surprise, in the middle of the night. A surprise that changes everything they all thought they knew. It will shake the team to core, wondering what else, is not what it seems. Maybe,this is what will lead her into Tony's arms.
1. Late Night Visitor

0300-She's sound asleep, when the knocking begins. She rolls over, hoping that the noise will subside. It continues. She rolls out of bed. In her pajamas she wanders through the apartment, towards the kitchen.

Ziva stops, in front of the door. She hears nothing. She pauses, and turns, to walk away. The knocking begins again. Ziva looks out the peephole, as she reaches for her gun. She sees no one outside. She sighs, in frustration, and turns to go back to bed. There is another knock on her door. She wonders if this is real, or if she's dreaming. She looks out the peephole once more. She looks straight ahead, side to side, nothing. Finally she looks down. She sees a small person in front of her door.

She unchains the door, and unbolts the locks. She pulls the door open, with her gun drawn. Big hazel eyes look up at her. The little girl looks at her, and then gun, without a glimmer of fear. Ziva returns her gun, to it's resting place. She stares at the little girl, in confusion.

She has thick, dark hair, that is tightly woven into a French braid. She stares at Ziva with tired eyes.

"Can I come in?" the little girl asks.

Ziva nods, unable to say anything, unsure of what's going on. The little girl brings herself, and a suitcase, that is nearly as large as she is, into the apartment. Ziva closes the door behind her. The little girl doesn't move. She doesn't go to take off the heavy, blue pea coat that is over her clothes.

"Who are you?" Ziva is finally able to ask.

"Amelia."

"How old are you?"

"I just turned six," she reveals.

"How did you get here?"

"There was a cab, and two planes, and another cab."

"Did you get here, by yourself?"

"No. My mother brought me."

"Where is she now?"

"I don't know."

"Why are you here?"

"She said that you would know what to do."

"I..."

Amelia unzips the top pocket of her suitcase. She pulls out an envelope, and hands it to Ziva. Ziva takes it from her. She rips the envelope open.

* * *

><p><em>Ziva,<em>

_I've been watching you. I know that this will cause serious confusion, all of it. Amelia is six. When I left, I didn't know that I was pregnant with her. I never should have agreed to leave. Leaving created more hurt, and despair, than I ever imagined. I truly regret it now. I never should have left NCIS, and joined the CIA. I never should have faked my own death. I hope that one day they will understand. Especially, Tony. He doesn't know about Amelia, not that he could. _

Ziva pauses, and looks at the girl, before continuing the letter. She studies the little girl's facial features. She sees half of Tony's facial features staring back at her. She shakes her head, and continues reading.

_I made a lot of wrong decisions. I slept with my partner. I agreed to an elaborate hoax, to fake my own death. I have a six year old daughter, who has never even met her father. I know that Tony will never forgive me, for not telling him about his daughter. I doubt that any of them, will ever forgive me. I don't expect them to. _

_To them, I have been dead for years. They have already mourned my loss, and finally moved on with their lives. My existence now, matters very little. I will be dead within the next twenty four hours. I am being hunted. I have been on the run, with Amelia, for six months. I can't continue to put her in danger. It was selfish to drag her into all of this._

_Tell her that I love her. I won't be back for her. I have been watching you, for a while. You are the only suitable candidate. Abby will be crushed, but she does not have the means to protect Amelia that you do. And, Tony... even though he is her father, is not prepared to raise a child. I know that this is a lot to take in, but I had no other choice._

_Take good care of her, Ziva. Love her like your own. I doubt that you will make it through the weekend, without being called in, you rarely do. I am sure that by Monday, my body will be found. The team will not understand. Please help them understand. I wrote each of them a letter. Tell them that I am sorry._

_Kate._

* * *

><p>Ziva feels a chill. She folds the letter back, up, and returns it to its envelope. She stares at the innocent face of the little girl standing before her.<p>

"Who is your mother?"

"Kate."

"Kate?"

"Caitlin Todd."

Ziva's heart sinks. She squats down, to be at the little girl's level, entirely uncertain of what to say.

"Ziva, it's ok," Amelia tells her, noticing the sad look, in the normally stoic Israeli-American's eyes, "I know that she's not coming back."

Ziva blinks away tears, and swallows the lump in her throat. Without a second thought she embraces the little girl. After a few seconds, she lets go.

"You look very tired, why don't you take your coat off, and get some sleep?"

Amelia peels her coat off. Ziva tosses it over the back of a chair. She leads Amelia into the living room. She shows her to the couch. Amelia climbs onto the couch. Ziva covers her with a fleece throw that rests on the arm. She attempts to tuck her in.

"Goodnight," Ziva tells her.

"Laila Tov," Amelia replies, as Ziva goes to lock the door.

She locks the door, and flips off the lamp near the door. She walks towards her room, stopping at the couch.

"Do you need a night light?"

"No, I'm not a baby."

"Good night," Ziva repeats, and makes her way back to her room.

0632- The ringing phone wakes her up. She rolls over, and answers sheepishly.

"David?"

The party on the other line explains the situation.

"I'll meet you there," she responds.

She is ready in ten minutes. She leaves the bedroom, and stumbles into the living room. She flips on the light, and stares at the sleeping little girl.

"Amelia," she whispers.

"Coming," Amelia's eyes pop open.

Amelia grabs her coat, as Ziva puts hers on. She leaves the apartment, with the little girl following behind her.


	2. Problems

When she arrives at the crime scene, she gets out of the car, alone, and locks the door behind her. Amelia sleeps, in the back seat. Ziva makes a beeline for the crime scene tape. When she ducks under the tape, that is around the front door of the house, she is relieved to see that Gibbs, is the only member of their team that has arrived so far. She approaches him.

"Can I talk to you for a second."

"Ziva I'm in the middle of a crime scene."

"This is more important."

"More important?"

"Like bringing someone back from the dead?"

"What are you talking about, Ziva?"

"Could you just come with me?"

He huffs, and follows her out of the house, down the sidewalk, to her car.

"What is so important that we had to come out into the snow, to discuss it?"

"That," Ziva points through the window her car.

"Your car?"

"Inside the car," Ziva responds.

Gibbs blinks, seeing the little girl sleeping inside.

"Babysitting?"

"Not exactly."

"Ziva you can't bring a kid to a crime scene."

"I didn't have any other choice."

"Whose kid is she?"

Ziva's eyes fall, to her shoes.

"David!" he barks.

She makes eye contact, and swallows hard, "Kate's."

"Kate's? Is that supposed to be some kind of sick joke?"

Ziva's facial expression remains unchanged.

"Kate is dead," Gibbs reminds her, in a hushed tone.

Ziva shakes her head, pulling the envelope out of her pocket. She hands it to him. This envelope has his name scrawled across it. He rips it open, and begins to read.

_Gibbs,_

_I'm sorry. I made a mistake. The CIA offered me a position. In order to obtain the position, my death had to be faked. It was an elaborate scheme, that was orchestrated entirely, by the CIA. I hurt a lot of people. I'm sorry. Amelia, is my daughter, she's six. Please help Ziva, keep her safe. I am being hunted, it is highly unlikely that I will still be alive, by the time you get this. Please forgive me. Help Tony understand. _

_Kate_

He looks up at Ziva. He shakes his head. She locks eyes with him.

"You don't believe it?"

"That's her handwriting," he admits.

"She didn't know, about Amelia, when she left."

"DiNozzo?" he questions.

Ziva just nods.

"How did you get her?"

"Kate left her, outside my door. I didn't know what to do."

"You should have called me."

"What are we going to do?"

"We're going to solve this case."

"You aren't going to find Kate?"

"I don't know," he shrugs.

"What do you want me to do with her?"

"Does she know what's going on?"

"Yes," Ziva nods.

"Just let her sleep," he responds.

"You want me to leave her in the car, alone? While we process the scene?"

"Arm go off, if shed?"

"Yes."

"Will the alarm go off, if she tries to get out?"

"Yes."

"So what is the problem?"

"I can't see her."

"Ziva, she'll be fine."

"Gibbs, what if whoever is after her mother attempts to do something to her?"

"The crime scene is fifty feet away, Ziva."

"What would you do? If she were your responsibility? Better yet, how would you feel if someone was supposed to protect your daughter and.." Ziva stops abruptly.

"You're right."

"So what would you like me to do with her?"

"I'll call Abby. I'll have her meet us here, and..."

Ziva shakes her head. "I'll take her to Abby. It will be quicker. I have something for her, anyway."

"Ok. Drive safely."

Ziva nods in agreement, as she returns to her car. She pulls away from the crime scene, as Tony pulls up. Tony parks the car, and steps out, as Gibbs is walking back to the crime scene.

"Where is Ziva going?" he questions.

"There was some business that she needed to take care of."

"What kind of business?"

"That's for me to know."

"Right, Boss," he nods, and follows Gibbs into the crime scene.

Ziva stops at a red light. She peeks in the rearview mirror. She sees a pair of hazel eyes staring back at her.

"You're awake."

"Green," Amelia responds.

Ziva looks forward. The light is green, so she puts her foot on the accelerator. She shifts gears as she gains speed. She doesn't check the rearview again, instead she remains focused, on the road.

"Where are we going?" Amelia wonders.

"To NCIS."

"Why?"

"You don't need to be at a crime scene."

"We're going to stay at NCIS?"

"You are."

"With who?"

"Abby. Did..."

"Oh, ok."


	3. Abby

Abby is staring at her computer screen, with her back turned to the door, when Ziva enters the lab. She stops, with Amelia standing in front of her. She looks at the girl for a moment, and then clears her throat.

Abby spins around. She looks at Amelia, and then to Ziva. Her eyes remain fixed, on Ziva. Ziva takes a deep breath, and swallows hard. Abby breaks eye contact, with Ziva. Her eyes fall on Amelia, and her lips widen into a smile.

"Are you giving tours now?" Abby's eyes flit back to Ziva.

"No," Ziva shakes her head, solemnly.

"You've started recruiting new NCIS agents?" Abby guesses.

"No," Ziva shakes her head.

Amelia stares at Abby. She holds out her hand, and smiles.

"Hi, I'm Amelia."

Abby shakes her hand, and stares at the little girl, in confusion. She studies her face, carefully.

"I'm Abby."

"I know."

"You look familiar, do I know you?"

"No," Amelia answers.

"Ziva?" Amelia turns around, and looks at Ziva, "Give her the letter."

Ziva hands Abby the letter. Abby shakes her head, and pushes Ziva's hand away.

"I don't want that."

"Abby, please."

"No. I..." she swallows hard, "She looks like Kate."

"I know," Ziva admits, "Just read it."

Abby takes the letter, and turns away, so they can't see her. She does her best not to cry, as she begins to read.

_Abby,_

_I know that you will have a hard time believing any of this. First of all, I want to ask for forgiveness. I know the hell that I put you through. I know the hell that I put all of you through. I am truly sorry for that. If I had not left, you would never have gotten Ziva on your team. I know that you have already mourned my loss. By the time you read this, I will probably be dead, again. I know that it's hard to understand. I will try to explain, the best that I can. I accepted an offer, from the CIA. They took extraordinary measures, to assure that my death seem as real as possible. No one knew the truth, but a few members of the CIA. _

_Now I am on the run. I know that Amelia is no longer safe with me. I cannot protect her. Believe me, I wish I could go back, and change everything. I wish that I would have known, because I never would have left. I didn't know that I was pregnant. She's six, and she's never met any of her family. Not even her father. _

_Which by the way, I am certain that you will figure out who he is, but I am not going to tell you. You will have to find out, on your own. I have entrusted Ziva, with Amelia. I know that my sister would love to take Amelia, but I chose Ziva, for a reason. My lawyer has all of the papers drawn up. Abby please help Ziva, she will need it. Amelia can be like her father, which is not always a good thing. Please, help Ziva give her the family that I wanted to. My NCIS family. _

_Please, keep my little girl safe,_

_Kate._

_P.S. Please forgive me._

Abby folds the letter back up, and stuffs it back into its envelope. She wipes the tears from her cheeks, and turns around. Her eyes meet Ziva's. As her nostrils flare, and her jaw clenches, to fight of the rest of her tears. Ziva takes a step away from Amelia. She stops in front of Abby. She embraces Abby, in an uncharacteristic move. After a few moments Abby lets go.

"Will you watch her?" Ziva begs.

"Of course," Abby swallows hard.

"Miss Abby, I promise I will stay out of your way."

Abby smiles, widely. She reaches down, and lifts the little girl off the ground. She places her in front of the computer. Amelia's legs dangle over the edge. Abby smiles at her.

"You can just call me Abby."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'm not ma'am, or miss, I'm just Abby," Abby clarifies.

"What about sir, or mister?" Amelia giggles.

"No, ma'am."

"Ok."

Abby turns to Ziva, "I can take it from here."

"Are you sure?"

"I won't forget to feed and water her," Abby promises.

"Ok," Ziva turns, and heads for the door. Abby follows behind her. Ziva heads for the elevator. Abby locks the lab door, behind her. She returns to her station, where Amelia waits, with a sleepy smile.

"You look sleepy," Abby comments.

"I am."

"Would you like to take a nap?"

"I'll be ok."

"You can take a nap in my office. It's quiet in there."

"Ok," Amelia hops off the table.

"Come on, I'll show you."

Abby leads her into her office. She unrolls the futon pad onto the floor. She grabs a blanket out of a cabinet, and nestles the little girl into a corner.

"Sweet dreams," Abby tells her.

"I'll try."

"And if you need me, I'll be right out there."

"Abby?"

"Yes?"

"My mom is never coming back," she states.

Abby kneels down, beside her, "No, she's not."

"It's ok."

"No," Abby argues, "It's not."

"She said that you would never let me forget her."

"No, never," Abby promises.

"I hope all of your work is done," Amelia adds.

"Why is that?"

"What happens, when they find her? You will have to sort out the mess."

"She's not an NCIS agent anymore."

"But he'll insist on taking the case."


	4. Lost and Found

Ziva returns to the scene. She walks in the door, and finds that everyone else is already there. DiNozzo looks up at her, as Ducky, and Palmer get the body zipped into the body bag.

"Nice of you to grace us with your presence," he taunts.

"Leave her alone, DiNozzo," Gibbs snaps, "You'll thank her for being late, later."

"What's that all about?" DiNozzo asks Tim.

Tim simply shrugs, and continues to document the scene.

"I want the two of you, to check out the upstairs," Gibbs informs them.

Ziva starts up the stairs. Tony follows her, grumbling the whole time. They start with the first room on the right. The master bedroom. There is blood everywhere. They document the scene. It leads them into the bathroom.

"This seems like a lot of blood, for one person."

"Yeah," DiNozzo agrees.

"It's like the blood leads up the stairs, instead of down them," Ziva bends down, to inspect the blood drops.

"Shall we?"

She nods, and they step into the hallway. They plan check each room, one by one. Ziva tries to flip on the light in the hallway, but it's burnt out. DiNozzo flips on his flashlight. They follow the trail of blood from the bedroom, to the hallway. They follow it to the bonus room, above the garage. It stops at the window. Tony looks at his partner. He points to the unlatched window.

"Would like me to go, or..."

"I'll go, meet me outside," she answers, pushing the window open. He nods. He leaves the room, and heads outside.

Once on the roof, she follows the blood drops. They stop, above the central air. Tony joins her.

"Ziva? Where are you."

"Over here," she calls out, as she snaps pictures, from above.

He follows the sound of her voice. He looks up at her. The drop from the lowest part of the roof to the heat pump, is approximately six, to seven feet.

"You want a hand?" he asks, already knowing the answer.

"Just document it."

"I don't want you to contaminate any evidence. Jump, and I'll catch you."

"I..."

"Ziva, just do it," he insists.

She takes one look at him, and rolls her eyes. She inches to the edge of the room. She slowly comes down, avoiding her partner. The ten foot drop makes her look like a cat. She gracefully lands on her feet, with knees bent. She stands up, and makes her way over to Tony.

"You always land on your feet."

She points past him, "There."

He nods, and they continue to follow the blood drops. Ziva gets a nagging feeling, in the pit of her stomach.

"I can follow it, you should finish checking the upstairs."

"You shouldn't go alone."

"I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she nods, stepping onto the sidewalk.

He reluctantly follows her instruction. He heads back into the house. Once he's out of site, she follows the trail. It leads her from the sidewalk, into the street. Once she gets to the street, it zigzags, towards the guard rail, at the end of the cul-de-sac.

The joys of living at the end of a cul-de-sac. A convenient place for perpetrators to slip off to. She hoists herself over the guard rail. She avoids the blood drops. When she gets over the guard rail, she sees a pool of blood. It continues, into the trees. She follows the trail a couple of feet, when it begins down an embankment, into a valley. She watches her footing, as she descends, into the valley. Before she can reach the bottom, the trail changes. Instead of a few drops, here and there, there is exceedingly more blood. She makes a right.

She heads into an area covered with dense bushes, and low lying vegetation. She fights her way through the terrain. She goes straight, past a tree. At the tree she takes another right. Past the tree, the area opens into a small clearing. She stops cold, when she sees what's lying on the ground. She takes a deep breath, and moves towards the body, lying on the ground. The body faces away from her.

Ziva carefully maneuvers around the evidence. She steps to the front of the victim. There is a pool of blood. She squats down, and gets a look at the face. She reaches out, and checks for a pulse. There is none. The body is cold to touch, clearly exposed to the elements, for hours. A pair of familiar eyes, stares up at her. Ziva notices the gun, clipped to her belt.

Ziva takes a deep breath, and reaches for her phone. She pulls it out of her pocket, and dials Gibbs. He answers, after two rings.

"Yeah?"

"Did Ducky leave yet?"

"No, he's just getting the body loaded, why?"

"I need him. On second thought, maybe we should call for another ME."

"Why?"

"I don't know if he can handle doing her autopsy."

"Why not?"

"Again," she answers.

"What?"

"Gibbs, it's ugly. I am amazed that she got this far. I mean..."

"Ziva?"

"Come down here."

"Where are you?"

"Follow the blood trail, over the guard rail, at the end of the cul-de-sac, down the embankment twenty feet, to the right, towards the brush. Just past the huge oak tree, take a right, and you'll see her."

"I'll get DiNozzo..."

She cuts him off, "No. You need to come, alone. He is not ready to see this, none of them are."

"Ziver?"

"It's Kate," she reveals, as he steps outside of the house.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"And you're sure that..."

"Gibbs, she's cold. She's been dead for hours."

"Ok," he agrees, "I've got to make some phone calls on my way," he tells her.


	5. Not Ready Yet

Ziva, and Gibbs help Ducky carry the body to the van. Gibbs explains the situation in a hushed voice, and reminds Ducky not to allow Tony to see the body. Gibbs returns to the crime scene, with Tim. Ziva goes back to the house, and finds Tony.

"What's going on?" he questions.

"It's classified," she answers.

"Why won't anyone tell me what's going on here?"

She motions towards the car, "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"There is someone you need to see."

"Who?"

"Just trust me," she insists as she climbs into the driver's seat.

* * *

><p>Ziva pulls the car into the evidence garage. Tony is ready to bail out, when she locks the doors, before he can escape. He looks over at her, with a furrowed brow.<p>

"You want to tell me what's going on?"

"Sometimes people lie to protect the people that they love."

"Ziva, I don't need any load of bs right now. Just tell me what is going on."

"Someone you loved left you, but not for the reasons that you think. It wasn't by choice, but necessity."

"What are you talking about?"

"And sometimes life has a way of changing in ways that we didn't even know were possible."

"Ziva, what the hell are you babbling about?"

"Some times we learn things that make us question everything."

"Just tell me."

"Tony you have a daughter," she reveals.

He laughs, "You really had me going. This has been an elaborate scheme. I'll give it to you. You got me this time."

The expression on her face remains unchanged. "Tony I am being serious."

His smile disappears, his face falls, and his stomach does a back flip, "What?"

"You have a daughter. She's six years old."

"How do you know this?"

"Because I have met her."

"But..." he tries to argue.

"Her name is Amelia."

"Where is she now?"

"With Abby."

"Why?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"One thing at a time."

"Ok," he nods.

"Do you want to meet her?"

"Yeah," he nods, hesitantly.

* * *

><p>She unlocks the car doors, and leads him into Abby's lab. Ziva opens the door, and finds Abby working on an experiment.<p>

"Where is Amelia?" Ziva questions.

Abby points at her office, "She's napping."

Ziva leads Tony to the window. Amelia is in Abby's office, asleep on a crash pad. She is covered with a blanket. The farting hippo is under her head. Tony stops in the window, and just stares at her in disbelief. After several moments of silence, arguably a record for Tony, he looks at his partner.

"How can you be sure?"

Abby interjects, "I ran the DNA. You're her father."

His heart skips a beat. His palms are suddenly sweaty, and he feels very uneasy. In fact he feels down right queasy. He pulls at his collar. He unbuttons the top button and pulls off his tie.

"I have a daughter? How did I not know? Why didn't I know?"

"She was trying to protect everyone involved," Ziva answers.

"I don't think she thought you were ready to take on the responsibility of a child," Abby adds.

"Who is her mother?" Tony queries.

"That doesn't matter, right now," Ziva answers.

"Where is her mother?"

Ziva shrugs, "I am sure that she is here, somewhere."

"Why am I just finding out about her, now?"

"Because her mother can't take care of her anymore."

"Why not?"

"I can't tell you that, right now."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're hiding something from me?"

"I am," Ziva admits.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Tony just trust me," Ziva begs.

He looks through the glass into Abby's office.

"I want to, but you just told me that I have a six year old daughter. My head is spinning."

"Why don't we go get some fresh air?"

"Why?"

"Fresh air will help clear your head."

"But..." he tries to argue.

"I'll go with you," she insists.

"Ok," he agrees.

He leaves the lab with Ziva, and goes outside. Meanwhile, Amelia wakes up, and wonders into Abby's lab.

"Miss Abby when will Ziva be back?"

"Soon," Abby answers.

"Oh."

"Were you playing opossum in there?"

"Maybe," she smirks.

"Are you getting hungry?"

"Was that him?"

"You have to be getting hungry by now."

"Maybe a little."

"What were you thinking?"

"Twizzlers maybe?"

"Hm... I am partial to twizzlers too, but I don't think that's a very healthy lunch. How about a sandwich."

She grins, "I like sandwiches."

"I thought that you might."


End file.
